Organizational Change: Considering Truth and Buy-In

Jason A. Hubbart ()
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Jason A. Hubbart: Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Agricultural Sciences Building, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Administrative Sciences, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Organizational change initiatives are often undertaken to update major business structural components or practices to meet the evolving needs of a changing industry. Unfortunately, explicit emphasis on the importance of truth and buy-in is missing from most, if not all, change initiatives. Including these factors is essential because the acceptance of explanations (truth) for change, resulting in stakeholder buy-in and commitment to change, may be among the most significant challenges to organizational change success. Indeed, the absence of leadership-conveyed truth-telling, and stakeholder truth acceptance, restrains the ability to grow, change, develop and evolve as an organization. Thus, insufficient truth acceptance and buy-in results in deficient stakeholder engagement and a decreased likelihood of organizational change initiative success. Moreover, the benefits of truth acceptance and buy-in stretch well beyond organizational change initiatives and positively influence work performance, commitment, satisfaction, and turnover. Therefore, the concepts of truth and buy-in are multi- and inter-organizational and essential at all levels of an organization. The purpose of this communication is to consider the general role(s) of truth and buy-in in the organizational change process and to serve as a reminder of the importance of explicitly including and achieving both early in the change initiative process.

Keywords: organizational change; truth; trust; buy-in; engagement; leadership; management; change initiative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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